CANTON — Things are slightly better today than a few years ago for the Fulton County Rehabilitation Center, which at one point was 18 months late in receiving bill payments from the state of Illinois.

The group which, like EP!C and the Community Workshop and Training Center in Peoria, works with people with physical or mental disabilities and helps them find employment, now sees swifter payments from the state treasury. But, executive director Rex Lewis said, the delays are slowly starting to grow week by week.

It’s a matter of worry for the agency that serves 105 people, employs 43 staff and already has had to arrange a $600,000 line of credit to dip into for tough times.

They’ve taken more steps to become self-sufficient and to make the state pay up, meaning not much else can be done.

“We’ve worked harder on getting donations; I think everybody’s into that now,” Lewis said. “...We used to just have one big fundraiser every year, and we still do, but we run several others to help get some of the money.”

They’ve also gotten onto the expedited payment list with Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka’s office, moving them and other social service agencies closer to the head of the line when money is available.

Nevertheless, with the comptroller’s office identifying $5.6 billion in backlogged bills and nearly 108,000 vouchers awaiting payment as of Friday, there’s still a wait.

“When the state catches up, that’s really a good thing,” Lewis said, noting that things have gotten better recently, but that the lag is beginning to again show.

“A couple years ago we were looking at that thinking how much longer can we exist,” he said. “Then things get a little better, then you fight it again and things get better again.”

He credits state Rep. Mike Unes, a Republican, and Sen. Dave Koehler, a Democrat, for helping the agency navigate through the last few years with state officials, as well as members of the Fulton County Board with lending a hand.

Until lawmakers manage to free up additional cash to pay off late bills, “the only thing we can do is hope,” Lewis said.